Press Releases

Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) Announces Newly Elected Board and Initiatives for 2010

October 2, 2009 - The Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) will begin its 27th year in 2010 with a newly elected Board and a growing focus on providing resources and events that showcase its members’ success to a national and international audience.

Incoming QRCA President Abby Leafe of Customer Strategy Consulting (Princeton, N.J.) said the accomplishments of the organization’s previous leadership have created a great deal of momentum in the qualitative research industry.

“Recent efforts have increased our visibility and reach as a whole,” said Leafe. “We’re forging relationships across North America and beyond, and offering a wider range of educational opportunities globally. With members in more than 20 countries, we’re growing and evolving in a dynamic and vibrant way that is exciting for QRCA as an organization and the researchers it represents.”

Those researchers benefit from regular opportunities to network, share best practices and learn from each other’s experiences. Details are being put together for the 2010 QRCA International Conference next May in Prague, Czech Republic. Last May, QRCA presented its first-ever Symposium on Excellence to rave reviews. The Symposium featured qualitative researchers and clients highlighting case study presentations that demonstrated successful applications and solved business problems.

QRCA also recently introduced its latest online tool: QRCABreakthroughs.com, a new audio series that brings to life qualitative research being done in the field by association members. The series highlights the skill and creativity QRCA members use to harness the power of qualitative research in a variety of industries.

“Today’s technology has helped us bring the success stories of so many qualitative researchers to the forefront,” Leafe said. “The documentation of our clients’ collective successes really highlights how qualitative research helps their bottom lines.”

The 2010 slate of directors and officers for QRCA includes:

• President: Abby Leafe – Customer Strategy Consulting (Princeton, N.J.)
• Vice President: Nancy Hardwick – Hardwick Research (Mercer Island, WA)
• Treasurer:  Matt Towers – Towers Research Services (Fairfax, CA)
• Secretary:  Susan Thornhill – Thornhill Associates (Hermosa Beach, CA)
• Director:  Ilka Kuhagen – IKM (Munich, Germany)
• Director:  Susan Abbott – Abbott Research & Consulting (Toronto, Canada)
• Director:  Susan Saurage-Altenloh – Saurage Research (Houston, TX)
• Director: Foster Winter – Sigma: Research Management Group (Cincinnati, OH)
• Director: Manuela Fletcher – Andrew Fletcher Consulting Ltd. (Wellington, New Zealand)

Procter & Gamble, Infiniti, Bacardi brands among many qualitative research success stories showcased at Symposium

June, 2009 - Constant Twitter traffic throughout the day, and the packed conference room at the end of the day were among the signs of success at the recent Symposium on Excellence in Qualitative Research in Chicago.

Additional proof was shown by the nine unique case studies put forth by Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) members and their clients. Presentations included using research to drive new product success by Infiniti, re-launching Bacardi for a new generation of drinkers, and how social media and technology are creating new ways to listen to consumers, by P&G.
 
QRCA is a not-for-profit organization with nearly 1,000 qualitative research consultants throughout the world. The Symposium highlighted how those consultants use proven methodology to identify key emotional drivers of consumer behavior – and ultimately affect that behavior to the benefit of their clients.
 
Symposium attendees witnessed an impressive array of qualitative research success stories, including a search for workforce talent, promoting a small New York museum and even rebranding corn starch.
 
“Consumers reward brands that value their opinion and engage them,” said Kristin Bush, senior manager consumer and market knowledge for Procter & Gamble and keynote speaker. “And qualitative research is among the most effective means of doing that.”
 
The influence and reach of the event was felt in real time, as attendees posted impressions on Twitter so other QRCA members could share the experience virtually.
 
“What made the Symposium valuable were the passion, talents and inspiration demonstrated by the QRCA members and the organizations they work with,” said Chris Kann, QRCA president. “What struck me was the collaboration that exists between the QRCA members and all levels of their clients’ management. It became evident that qualitative research findings were directly affecting the success of the initiatives, sometimes in new ways.”
 
Illustrating Kann’s point was a presentation by QRCA member Michele Zwillinger, SnoopPro Research, and Nissan North America Director of Advanced Planning Rachel Nguyen. The pair showed conclusively how qualitative research was used in a market development application, ultimately helping the company design future vehicles.
 
Zwillinger designed the laddering research to test 25 technologically advanced product features Nissan was considering for its next Infiniti models. Results of the work successfully connected the features with the values inherent in the Infiniti brand through the seven core values of peace of mind, pleasure, emotional security, self-esteem, hedonistic compassion, accomplishment and freedom.
 
Nguyen then used that research effectively to communicate the connection directly to the engineers responsible for developing advanced Infiniti vehicles in terms they understood.

“We found a direct link from some proposed advanced product features to the emotional values our key customer demographic holds sacred,” Nguyen said. “The value to us of the qualitative research for product development was incredible.”
 
“Building on and interpreting what their customers are saying is a key reason why qualitative researchers create opportunities for success for their clients,” Kann said. “The ability to probe beyond the rationalization and what’s merely on the surface is what these case studies were all about.”

Press Release Archives

• Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) Announces Newly Elected Board and Initiatives for 2010 (October 2, 2009)
• Procter & Gamble, Infiniti, Bacardi brands among many qualitative research success stories showcased at Symposium (June, 2009)
• Registration Closing Soon for QRCA Symposium on Excellence in Qualitative Research (March 23, 2009)
• Registration Open for QRCA Spring Symposium (February 3, 2009)
• QRCA Develops Creativity + Innovation SIG (January 15, 2009)
• QRCA Welcomes New Board of Directors (November 11, 2008)
• Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) Forms Political Special Interest Group (September 29, 2008)
• QRCA.com Launches Free Project/Job Posting Area (September 4, 2008)
• QRCA Names Global Outreach Scholarship Winner (Aug. 5, 2008)
• Qualitative Research Consultants Association Forms Ethnography Special Interest Group (July 2, 2008)
• QRCA Announces New Global Outreach Scholarship (Jan.2008)
• Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) Forms Latino Special Interest Group (Feb.2007)